


It Wasn't Supposed to Happen

by missbookworm56



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6669577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbookworm56/pseuds/missbookworm56





	It Wasn't Supposed to Happen

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to bury my best friend. It was obviously unexpected. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, not that that made accepting it any easier. If I hadn’t wanted to see her, none of this would have happened. She would have been back on campus, studying for finals, not driving to calm down her freaked out friend while he planned a wedding. 

I heard the priest talking, but I couldn’t understand. I just watched through my teary vision as she was lowered into the ground. Most people were crying, her parents and siblings especially. My mom was crying as well from her seat beside me. She had lost the closest thing to a daughter she had, Laura had come into the picture long before my sister-in-law did. 

It made it worse that she had written a letter addressed to me. I had forgotten we did it after a scary slide on ice a few years ago, to be honest. Now she’ll never get to read what I wrote to her. But I read hers. I read hers and bawled like a baby. She hadn’t confessed her undying love for me or anything, simply talked about all the great times we had had together, and how she hoped her death wouldn’t stop me from going out and having a great time. She said that she’ll be waiting for me, but to take my time in meeting her. She simply signed it “Love, Laura”

I visited her grave a lot those first couple years. I always felt slightly ridiculous talking to a headstone, but it helped to clarify things. I liked to think that Laura could hear me, so I told her everything. What was going on with my marriage, how happy I was when my kids were born. How much I missed her attempts to mess with me. How devastated I was that she didn’t get a chance at having a career, having a family, or growing older. How much I still missed her, years later. 

The visits became less frequent as the kids grew older and busier. I still made an effort to visit, but it dwindled down to once or twice a year. I reread her letter a lot even though I had the words memorized long ago. Just seeing her handwriting calmed me down after a rough day. It also reminded me to go out and see the world. I made sure to fulfill her wishes, and took my family all around the country on vacations. We explored castles left to crumble, and laid out under the stars in Kerry. We saw Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, and the beaches of Donegal in the summer. 

I watched my children grow into responsible adults with families of their own. I got the chance to spoil my grandchildren, and tell them stories about my youth. Some of their favorite stories to hear were ones involving Laura, and I was happy to tell them over and over again. I was content with my life, and all I had accomplished. 

I knew something wrong, and the doctor just confirmed it. I had been forgetting names, and confusing family members. My moments of clarity lessened with each passing month. The only names I got consistently correct were my wife’s and Laura’s. Basic tasks became difficult, and I knew deep down that my time on Earth was coming to an end. 

I didn’t feel any pain. It simply felt like waking up after a refreshing nap. I looked around to find I was once again twenty-two, and back on my alma mater’s campus. As I admired the familiar surroundings, a figure approached me. I turned to find Laura beaming at me.

“Hello Niall,” she greeted, taking my hand in hers. And with that, we walked off into the light, together again at last. 


End file.
